Page 23 of Chaos Destiny
“Where are you from?” I asked. “Sometimes, when you talk, I hear a bit of an accent. It’s slight, but it’s there. It’s the same with Ari.”
“We were born in Australia, but we’ve been in the States for a while. I live in California now.”
“So, you and Ari traveled to the East Coast fromCalifornia?”
“No, Ari lives in the DMV area with her…” He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and yawned into his elbow. “Well, she was in the DMV area when everything went down.”
“You lived on different coasts? Are you separated?”
“It’s a long story. For us, this mess all started the same day Thandie was born. The three of us haven’t been apart since. Shit like this? It makes you realize how important it is to be close to the people you love.”
“Amen to that.”
“You’ve lost people?”
“Too many.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Someone knocked on the door. When they entered, I started to point to the empty tray in front of Gage, but the mood in the room shifted.
“How’s the baby, Tayler?” Allen asked.
“So far, so good.” I gave Thandie a quick nuzzle. “I’m staying here overnight to keep an eye on her. If she caught whatever bug her mother did, it’s best if we treat it early. Her immune system won’t survive something like that.”
“Tayler, I’m not comfortable with this arrangement. There’s a half-naked man present in this room.”
“Who came here with his daughter and sick wife.”
“It’s just for this one night?”
I nuzzled Thandie again. “It’s for as long as this little one stays healthy.”
“So, who’s staying with the woman?”
“Her name’s Ari, and Lorna’s staying with her,” I said. “Don’t worry. Everything’s handled. You’re safe to go to bed.”
“What if I want you to go to bed with me?”
We’d sought comfort in one another, but our relationship never breached the intimacy border. For all the items we’d found while scavenging the nearby areas, condoms seemed to always be in short supply. Pregnancies were challenging enough to manage in astableworld.
Allen sighed, crossed the room, bent, and kissed my cheek. As he straightened, he studied Thandie’s tiny form.
“Tayler, this world’s going to eat her alive,” he said. “Let’s be realistic. She probably won’t make it to her first birthday.”
I flinched.
Babies, children, and adults ranging from college students to nursing home residents—we failed every last one of them. They’d arrived at the CDC riding the waves of false promises of hope, only to end up surrounded by experts whose only beneficial act had been to be at their sides as they died because their loved ones couldn’t. To this day, the only thing we’d accomplished was a name. At least, with a name, the civilizations that came after us would be able to identify precisely what had wiped out all human life.
“Would you have preferred I strangled her upon birth?” Gage asked. “Or maybe a gun would suffice?”
“It’s the truth,” Allen argued. “The world before was already brutal enough to eat babies alive.”
I pointed to the door. “Allen, go. Please.”
Gage had food and water in his system. Allen had not only insulted him, but he’d made an ignorant remark about Gage’sdaughter. Yet, Allen didn’t seem to sense, like I sensed, how close to death he would come if he didn’t shut his mouth.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Allen said, headed for the door. “But I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”
